


Three Leaves Would Do

by VerityGrahams



Series: The Houses Competition - Year Six - Gryffindor [4]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Faith hope love and luck, Lily Evans Potter & Severus Snape Friendship, The Houses Competition, Unrequited Love, Young Severus Snape
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:35:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25669783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VerityGrahams/pseuds/VerityGrahams
Summary: "Four-leaf clovers are incredibly lucky!"Severus rolled his eyes. "That's a silly Muggle superstition; it has no logic.""You're awfully narrow-minded," she said. "Each leaf represents something different; if you find one, it's lucky."Severus cocked an eyebrow, eyeing the little four-leafed plant. Lily held it like it was a prize possession.
Relationships: Lily Evans Potter & Severus Snape
Series: The Houses Competition - Year Six - Gryffindor [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1735684
Kudos: 12





	Three Leaves Would Do

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I do not own Harry Potter
> 
> Written for The Houses Competition
> 
> House: Gryffindor
> 
> Position: Potions
> 
> Category: Drabble
> 
> Prompt: [Object] Four Leaf Clover
> 
> Wordcount: 965
> 
> AU(ish) Note: For the sake of the plot, Severus Snape lived just a little longer in the shrieking shack after Potter left.

Lily and Severus spent more time at the park than anywhere else. They played on the swings, climbed the old oak tree, and spent hours lying on the lush green grass by the lake. Lily would make daisy chains as she listened to Severus tell her about the wizarding world.

On a particularly sunny day, Severus was telling her about the Hogwarts sorting system.

"My mum told me about it," he said. "It's an old hat, but it can see _inside_ your head!" Severus' eyes were alight, something Lily rarely saw in her sullen friend. "It's the hat that decides where you belong."

Lily listened intently to Severus' explanation while she worked on a long and intricate daisy chain.

Severus was just explaining the different houses when Lily interrupted. "Sev! Look." She pointed to a patch of clovers beside them.

"Clover? They aren't special. They aren't in a single potion." He turned his nose up at the plant.

Lily gave Severus the daisy chain. "Look after that." She plucked a clover, holding it up to the light. "Sev, it has _four_ leaves!"

"So…"

"Four-leaf clovers are incredibly lucky!"

Severus rolled his eyes. "That's a silly Muggle superstition; it has no logic."

"You're awfully narrow-minded," she said. "Each leaf represents something different; if you find one, it's lucky."

Severus cocked an eyebrow, eyeing the little four-leafed plant. Lily held it like it was a prize possession. "What are you going to do with it?"

"Can we put it in your book? It'll press it flat."

"I don't understand. Seven-leafed clovers are rare, and seven is a powerfully magical number—"

"—It's what it represents: faith, hope, love, and luck. It's a symbol, Sev, and symbols have powerful magic of their own."

* * *

The clover remained in Severus' notebook for many years. Whenever they were studying, the journal would be placed on the desk, and Lily would open it to the green clover. Each time, Severus would point out that it never brought him one bit of luck.

At the beginning of their fifth year, they were continually studying for their O. . As always, Lily opened the notebook, and there was the little green luck charm.

"Just what we need for our O. !" she said. "Our lucky four-leaf clover."

Severus scowled at the clover. Things had been strained between them lately, and a reminder of the silly superstition irritated him. He picked up the clover; it was perfectly flat after years of being pressed, the edges were browned, and the green wasn't as vibrant as it had been.

"It looks like it's seen better days," he said with a sneer. "I think its luck ran out."

"Fine, I'll keep it." Lily took the clover and placed it in her Transfiguration textbook. "If you don't want the luck anymore, I'll have it."

Severus huffed and thrust the notebook into his bag. Something about her taking ownership of the clover irked him, but he couldn't put his finger on why.

"I left my Transfiguration book in the dorm," he said, walking away.

Lily noticed the very same book peeking out of his bag.

She kept the clover close. Her friendship with Severus was as wilted and worn out as the small green sprig. She needed to bring it back to life; if she could heal the clover, then maybe she could bridge the gap that was growing wider between them.

* * *

Things between Lily and Severus seemed to get worse after that. Lily watched the choices that he made, and the venom he had towards his bullies. Lily understood why he hated the Marauders; why he was so angry and bitter towards the world, but she didn't know why he wanted to join _them_ : the Death Eaters.

That was when she came across an enchantment in her Transfiguration textbook. It turned any object into a magical artefact; it could take a mundane object and amplify its powers for the user.

Lily took out the clover and wondered if it would bring it back to life — if the artefact would bring Severus back to her. Would the love, faith, hope, and luck it would be imbued with save Sev?

Weeks went by, but finally, she and Severus were in the library studying again. Severus had been talking about Remus Lupin and insinuating what he was. He'd been ignoring what she'd said about his own friends and focused only on the Marauders.

"Are you going to get that silly clover out again?" he asked, his tone snarkier than she would have liked.

"I did something to it actually." She forced a smile as she pulled a box out of her bag. "It's for you."

He took it. Opening the box, he found the four-leaf clover. It was different from the last time he saw it. It was made entirely out of clear green crystal, yet was still so life-like, and it hung on a delicate chain.

"You can't argue about its properties; it's a _magical_ artefact now."

Severus smiled at her. It was rare that he smiled, and seeing it made her hopeful.

"It still won't bring luck." He placed the box in her satchel.

She smiled. "It all depends on what it did before. I think it connected us; I hope it will connect us for years to come."

* * *

It was a great many years later that Severus pulled the chain out from under his robes. He laid on the floor, barely conscious, watching Potter leave the Shrieking Shack. The glittering green four-leaf clover still hung on a delicate chain, and he smiled.

She'd been wrong. The clover didn't bring him luck. It didn't connect them; he'd not allowed that. It reminded him of what she had for him, though: faith, hope, and love. Three leaves would do.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading


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